Rui Costa seemed to have the world at his feet in 2013. The Portuguese rider, then 26, won the Tour de Suisse and two stages at the Tour de France, and capped it off by becoming world champion in Florence.
His fortunes since have been something of a curiosity. A stage and the overall at Suisse in 2014, and a stage at the 2015 Criterium du Dauphiné are the only additions to a palmares that had threatened to burgeon as he entered his prime.
That said, Costa was hardly flailing. In 2014 he was on the podium of the Volta ao Algarve, Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, GP de Montreal, and Il Lombardia, while top 5's at Paris-Nice, Fleche-Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Dauphine, and Montreal followed in 2015.
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Last year was his only barren campaign in seven years as a pro, but he was similarly consistent – top 10 at the Tour of Oman, Paris-Nice, Pais Vasco, Romandie, and Suisse, and a podium at Liege.
"The only thing lacking was the victory," he tells Cyclingnews at the Vuelta a San Juan, where he's making his season debut with the UAE Abu Dhabi team.
"The year after I won the Worlds, in 2014, I was doing well. There were lots of second places, but at the end of the day it was a good season. 2015, too. Last year, in truth, was very similar – I had another good season. I felt really strong and was very close to winning – stages in the Tour, in Montreal. I was very close. Other races too. I tried a lot. It was just the victory that was lacking."
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